Steps in Goggle Creation

Here is a breakdown of most of the major steps that it took to get my goggles completed.  I have put the pictures that I had on file to try to help with the visualization of the process.

The original goggles as they were when I purchased them from a local flea market.  Here I had removed the elastic strap and had to do some repair work using 5 minute epoxy to the round vents as they had a few breaks in them.   Next, I painted the base coat of Krylon Fusion black paint so any other paint would have a way to stick. I now believe that glueing on most of the components first would have been better since the flexible area became very sticky and attracted a lot of hair.  I glued several wing nuts and acorn nuts around the flip up lense assembly to make things a little more mechanical.  Then the radio tubes with their custom plugs were added along with gears on the side and an assembly from the car instrument panel with a bubble level added for effect.  The magnifying loupes have their own clip to attach them but also alows them to be removed at any time.  These were actually saved until the end along with some other items.  Finally you can see what I wanted to do with this project start to come into focus.  I only needed to add the rub n buff color, work a bit on the lenses and then cover everything in clear coat to preserve the painted details.

Vacuum Tube Connections

I realized pretty early on that I would need a way to add my vacuum tubes to my steampunk projects that included something more than just glue.  I decided that the best thing to do would be to make my own plugs for these to insert into.  I went with a type of jewellery clay called Pardo by Viva Decor.  This comes in packs of small round pieces of clay that can be worked into the proper shape then baked to a hard finished substance.

I found what I needed at the local craft store and bought a metallic copper color just in case I decided not to paint the connectors black.  When working these lumps of clay you really have to add quite a bit of water to help them soften up and then just keep kneeding and rolling until you end up with a very soft, pliable version of the original.  I ended up taking a lot more time to do this on my second attempt but the main goal is to make sure that the clay will shape easily when you are ready to try out the vacuum tubes.  I finally ended up with a somewhat barrell shaped piece of clay that I "plugged" the tube down into and then removed so that I had the impression of the metal wires from the bottom of the tube.  I then placed this in the oven for about twenty minutes or so and after it had cooled I was left with a connection for my radio tube. 

Now I was able to plug and unplug the vacuum tube which fit pretty securely into the connector and I could then use some five minute epoxy to glue this onto my steampunk item.  I could also remove the tube anytime I needed for storage or other purposes.

Vacuum Tubes-The Wave of the Future

I'll have to confess my love for vacuum tubes right now.  They are one of the most beautiful electronic components that were built for functionalty but also turned out to be individual works of art.  The tiny details inside each one of these radio tubes is both other worldly in appearance and seemingly random.  I will most likely be using these beauties as much as possible on my gear whether they actually have anything to do with steam or not. 

I have noticed along my journey that there are a lot of tendencies for other genres to bump up against steampunk and mix a little.  Including the unusual world of Nikola Tesla.  I think that may have alot to do with vacuum tubes and various other electric parts showing up in steampunk because several of these anachronisms come from much later times than the Victorian Era.

That being said, I met a gentleman at one of the flea markets just outside of town who is a former teacher and perveyor of things of the early electronic age.  He sold me several vacuum/radio tubes very reasonably and so I now have quite a good selection to choose from when putting my gear together.



The fellow wasn't sure which ones still work or not but I have seen individual tubes on eBay that sell for more than I paid for the lot pictured above so I think I will be ok with one or two being burnt.  Actually the burnt ones have an interesting look too because of all the silver blown against the inside of the glass.  Now of course that I have these items which connect to specifically shaped plugs, my task will be to make something for them to plug into.  Still, this process of finding things then making them work is turning out to be quite a lot of fun.